Monday, December 20, 2010

Fall-back Favourites: Stuffed Capsicum (Peppers)

When I'm pressed for time, I have a range of meals that I make without having to think about the details. Chop chop and in the pot - curries, stir-fries, etc. So in my new series of Fall-back Favourites, I will note the details of some of these recipes where measurements are open to interpretation, and effort is minimised. Check out the first recipe in this series - Roast Leg of Lamb

This is a fantastic way to glam up some leftovers in a tasty capsicum (or what Americans call bell peppers). Whatever meat and veg you have in the fridge will work - chicken and chives, beef and broccoli, lamb and leeks... You name it! Here's a breakdown of the last batch I made:

Ingredients: 

Bacon grease or coconut oil, for frying
Diced vegetables - I used spring onions, red onion, and tomato.
Meat - I used sliced ham
Eggs - one per capsicum
Capsicum/peppers - one per person

Method:

1. Preheat oven to moderate (150 deg C).

2. Slice tops off capsicum, and remove all seeds. Put the tops aside, and sit the capsicum on a tray.

3. In a frying pan over moderate heat, melt oils and add onions. Sauté until cooked through.


4. Add tomatoes and meat. Once they are slightly cooked, add eggs and scramble until all ingredients are cooked.


5. Scoop frying pan mixture into the capsicum, sharing the mixture evenly between the peppers. Replace capsicum tops.


6. Place pan in oven and bake until capsicum is starting to brown. Top with cheese if you like.

Serve carefully, as most capsicum don't like to stand upright and will spill their guts if toppled. If your capsicum is particularly uneven, wrap the base in aluminium foil and create a steady base.

This meal is an absolute favourite of ours - I love the adaptability, and the beau is obsessed with the flavours. In terms of vegetable-based foods, this is second only to cauliflower pizza in my book!

6 comments:

Anne H said...

This looks great! Really great!
I wanna try it!

brahnamin said...

If you cut your peppers lengthwise from the top down they tend to sit better - that is to say they're not as likely to topple over - and you get two usable pepper halves to fill from each pepper.

Your stuffing mix looks absolutely delicious, by the way.

Jezwyn said...

Thanks guys!

I used to do the lengthwise boats, but I found that I would have to under-cook the peppers else, if properly roasted, they would start to flatten and lose the filling.

James M said...

This is promptly going into my Recipe folders and will be trying out soon - perhaps even tonight. Looks delicious and sounds dead simple to create. Thanks for sharing this!

Josiah said...

So what's the scoop on Bacon Grease? Can you just put it in jar and stick it in the fridge and reuse it?

Jezwyn said...

Hey Josiah!

Bacon grease can absolutely be popped into a glass or ceramic dish/jar, and kept in the fridge until required. You can even leave it out in the open if the fat has been strained to remove any lingering bits of protein. I always keep the animal fat that renders out of my grilled meat, and bacon grease is liquid gold!